CHENNAI: Soon, over 300 children with diabetes, who are registered with the Institute of Child Health, are to get glucometers and strips to test their blood sugar level, a move which will benefit hundreds of parents who cannot afford the same.
“The Institute of Child Health has 30 per cent of diabetics in the age group of 3 to 5 years. We have 30 to 40 per cent registered in the pubescent age group. Insulin should be given depending on the sugar level. Glucose levels in children keep fluctuating rapidly, so ideally sugar should be checked thrice a day,” says Dr V Poovazhagi, professor of paediatrics, Institute of Child Health.
“We used to supply strips free of cost with the help of a public private partnership. Though we supply insulin free of cost, strips, insulin syringes and others are recurring cost. Per month these would cost anywhere around Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. It is a huge amount for the poor who come to ICH,” added Dr Poovazhagi.
Over 98 per cent of children who come to ICH, fall under Type-1 diabetes, a condition where pancreas produce no insulin. Because they cannot afford even strips, some parents skip the test for some days. However, since the hospital will supply the same free of cost, this may change, says Dr Poovazhagi. “We have 320 children with diabetes registered with the Institute. We will distribute glucometer and glucometer strips to parents of these children on April 15 for one year, free of cost. We will also educate the parents on the day on how to check the glucose level and what they should do if they get abnormal test results. We will also have an exhibition on nutritional diet as nutrition in diabetic children is different from nutrition in normal children,” Dr AT Arasar Seeralar, Director, ICH told Express.